This invention relates to local oscillator frequency transmission in a radio transceiver. In such a transceiver, a local oscillator (LO) frequency signal is used for modulation to produce modulated signals for transmission.
In a particular type of homodyne transceiver, an I/Q (in-phase and quadrature-phase, respectively) modulator is used. A possible application for use of such a transceiver requires the transmission of two pulses of 1 xcexcs duration of different phases 1 xcexcs apart and then repeating after 100 xcexcs. The pulses are transmitted onto material that responds with a signal (echo) 600 KHz less than the transmitted frequency. The echo is received 4 xcexcs after the second pulse is transmitted. In practice, the echo may be almost completely covered by noise. By using a combination of different phases in the transmitted signal, this additive noise can be almost completely removed.
The unwanted emission during reception mode of local oscillator (LO) frequency out through the antenna or internally, e.g. via an antenna switch, and the subsequent reception of it by the receiver is a problem in homodyne or direct conversion transceivers. It is a problem which increases with ever-decreasing levels of received signal strength in the receiver. Where signal levels are even lower than normal, the receiver is very sensitive to in-band signals. This LO leakage can cause a DC offset in the receiver, which distorts the information contained in the received signal.
Typically, I/Q modulators have two pairs of differential input pins: one pair for the In-Phase (I) modulation signal input, and an additional pair for the Quadrature (Q) phase modulation input. These pins are internally biased so as to provide maximum carrier suppression with no signal applied.
It is common practice for input signals to be AC-coupled to the I and Q input pins to the modulator. The reason for this is that any DC voltage appearing at the inputs would cause DC offsets within the device, which in turn would degrade the carrier suppression of the modulated signal. For most applications, AC coupling would be suitable, provided that the DC-blocking capacitor value is chosen such that the high-pass corner frequency that results from this type of coupling is low enough to avoid any distortion of the modulating signal.
For some applications, however, the modulating signal must be DC coupled to the modulator inputs. In one application such as that described above, the phase of the transmitted signal must be one of four fixed, stable values for the duration of the transmitted pulse, and must be repeatable from pulse to pulse. This requirement can be fulfilled only if the phase-control signals are DC-coupled to the I and Q input pins to the modulator. To overcome the inherent DC offsets that would be introduced in such an application, and to reduce the resulting carrier leakage during reception, complex DC offset compensation circuitry would heretofore be necessary.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a circuit and method for reducing local oscillator frequency transmission in a radio transceiver wherein the above mentioned disadvantage(s) may be alleviated.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention there is provided a circuit for reducing local oscillator or carrier frequency transmission in a radio transceiver, the circuit comprising: modulator means or circuitry having inputs for receiving signals for modulation on a carrier signal to produce a modulated carrier transmission signal for transmission; and demodulator circuitry for receiving a modulated carrier reception signal to recover therefrom signals modulated thereon, wherein the circuit further comprises control means or circuitry for applying to the modulator circuitry inputs the signals for modulation on the carrier during transmission and for presenting to the inputs of the modulator circuitry high impedances during reception whereby carrier frequency transmission during reception is reduced.
In this transceiver, the solution to the DC offset problem caused by LO leakage discussed above is to suppress the carrier during reception by way of high impedance states presented on modulation signal inputs, e.g. I and Q inputs, of an I/Q modulator. The phase of the output signal of a modulator which is an I/Q modulator may be controlled during transmission by inputs on the I and Q (modulation signal input) lines. Preferably, by internally biasing the I/Q lines, maximum LO isolation can be provided by nulling the carrier. This condition can by the invention be obtained during reception by the high impedance states provided by the control means. The invention thereby beneficially allows the transceiver to use inexpensive integrated circuits (IC""s), which are currently widely available in the marketplace.
Thus, in the circuit according to the first aspect of the invention, the control means and modulation means may be such that the modulation signals may be phase control signals, e.g. in-phase and quadrature phase signals, which are dc coupled to the modulator means via the modulation signal inputs. The signals may be applied as differential signals via pairs of inputs to the modulator means, e.g. to provide transmitted modulated signals which have one of four selected phase states.
In the circuit according to the first aspect of the invention, the modulation means may comprise means for internally biasing the modulation signal inputs whereby the carrier signal is suppressed with no modulation signal applied. The carrier signal may by the provision of the control means, be substantially nulled during reception.
The control means may incorporate semiconductor switching devices which can be switched between a conducting state and a high impedance state. The switching devices may comprise transistor devices, e.g. bipolar transistors.
The circuit according to the first aspect of the invention may include control circuitry which comprises: outputs for connection to the inputs of the modulator circuitry; and high impedance transistor circuitry; the inputs of the modulator circuitry being connected to the outputs of the control circuitry to receive the signals for modulation on the carrier during transmission, and the high impedance transistor circuitry being coupled to the inputs of the modulator circuitry to present a high impedance thereto during reception.
The invention beneficially allows one frequency synthesiser to be used as the source for both the transmitter and the receiver and for the transmitter and receiver to operate in the same frequency band without substantial feedthrough of the carrier signal during reception.
The transceiver according to the first aspect of the invention may be a homodyne transceiver and may be usable in a mobile or portable radio communications device.
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method for reducing carrier frequency transmission in a radio transceiver which method comprises providing modulator circuitry having inputs receiving signals for modulation on a carrier and producing a modulated carrier transmission signal for transmission; providing demodulator circuitry receiving a modulated carrier reception signal and recovering therefrom signals modulated thereon; and providing control circuitry applying to the modulator circuitry inputs the signals for modulation on the carrier during transmission and presenting to the inputs of the modulator circuitry high impedances during reception whereby carrier frequency transmission is reduced.
EP0661801A describes a quadrature phase modulator for a transmitter with adaptive suppression of carrier leakage. This reference describes a technique for nulling the carrier feedthrough during modulation for transmission. It does not contemplate reducing unwanted carrier leakage between transmissions, i.e. during a reception mode, as provided by the present invention.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.